Religion
Religion is the cultural and philosophical system of faith and/or worship, which is based on a superhuman entity or entities. In the Malice world, God is generally seen as a morally neutral creator, and curses are usually worshiped instead. The curses were created by Falken using the Sword of Creation of Destruction. Whether Falken or God should be credited for the creation of the curses is a subject of debate, which leads to different worldviews about the curses. Atheism Atheism, or non-religion, is the lack of faith in God or the curses. This isn't the same as lack of belief, since the curses and God are proven to exist. Atheists don't necessarily disagree with the curses. On the contrary, some atheists largely agree with the ideology of one or more curses. However, they reject the divinity of curses. They believe that although God's power created the curses, Falken made the decision out of his own free will, and that thus, the curses are a product of mankind. Since man-made tools such as a sword or an ax shouldn't be worshiped, neither should the curses. Atheism is widespread among the general population, though atheists are forced to hide and renounce their beliefs in theocratic states, such as the Ellebor Empire. Intellectual arguments, such as the one mentioned in the above paragraph, are only influential among educated scholars. Atheism in the general population is largely due to distaste of the curses and their role in society. Monotheism Monotheism is the belief in the divinity of a single curse. Monotheists believe that a certain curse is inherently superior to the others in ideology, and that the world should submit to that curse. Other curses may be seen as outright evil, or simply flawed in comparison to the divine curse. Preservation Curse Religious Preservationism was the official state religion of the Ellebor Empire, and the belief in the divinity of the Preservation Curse. Emperor Zelodor did not actually believe in this religion, and was secretly an atheist, but he used religion to consolidate his own power. Since the Preservation Curse was believed to be divine, its host, Zelodor should be infallible. Thus, he turned the Ellebor Empire into both a theocracy and an absolute monarchy. The Ellebor Empire was strict in restricting religious freedom, such that anyone whose nationality is Elleborian is also assumed to follow the religion. In some dependencies, however, such as Outer Isle, religious laws were not enforced due to lesser government presence, though the laws still applied in theory. Nature Curse Naturalism is the belief that nature is equal to or even greater than mankind. This belief developed independently of the Nature Curse, and likely existed before the curse's creation. After the creation of the Nature Curse, naturalism merged with religious Naturalism. Due to the Nature Curse's role in serving the Ellebor Empire, very few people worshiped the Nature Curse. Elleborians were required to worship the Preservation Curse instead, and those outside Ellebor wouldn't praise a curse loyal to the empire. Perfection Curse Religious Perfectionism is the belief in the divinity of the Perfection Curse, and the idea that a "perfect" society can be created through the sacrifice of individuals for long-term benefits. This religion was popularized by Ilimpion and the Republic of Ferrein, though it was never a state religion due to Ferrein's laws protecting religious liberty. Religious Perfectionism didn't claim that Perfection Curse hosts were infallible, since this is contradictory to its collectivism beliefs. For most, it meant a lifestyle change stressing the importance of responsibility, asceticism, and altruism. In Ferrein's case, Perfectionism was associated with Ilimpion's Socialist Party.